Post New

We blew up a drug boat. Our military is going to be chasing around Latin American cartel now it seems.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/02/politics/us-militar...

The US president said 11 people were killed in the strike in “international waters.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the “lethal strike” as taking place in the “southern Caribbean” against “a drug vessel which had departed from Venezuela.”

The use of military force against Latin American drug cartels represents a significant escalation by the Trump administration and could have serious implications for the region.

Me: Distraction #07951. I think Latin America has had enough of our military.

Me: Distraction #07951

Yeah. Why bother stopping drugs coming in? That’s Tom Clancy-wannabe stuff.

We blew up a drug boat.
I am totally okay with this. We have been in and out of the business of assisting our southern neighbors with drug enforcement for decades now.
If this is done without coordination with the locals, it would be very bad.

Hopefully Trump has done a better job communicating with the leaders of those countries than he has with our local governors and mayors:-(
Alan

We blew up a drug boat. Our military is going to be chasing around Latin American cartel now it seems.

A while back, I posted about the naval units deploying off the Venezuelan coast, Trump fawning over a Venezuelan opposition leader during the SOTU, the rhetoric about Maduro being a "drug lord", and that "drug lord" line was used to excuse the invasion of Panama, and asked if anyone else was long oil, on another board. No-one cared. Facts are facts. Reagan lost over 200 Marines covering Israel's flank in Lebanon, and invaded Grenada. Bush 41 invaded Panama. Bush 43 invaded Afghanistan and Iraq. Seems if you are in the GOP, and want to be a big shot, you knock over some little third world country. Besides, anyone listening to the "energy dominance" rhetoric over the past year, would realize how interested the regime is in enriching the fossil fuels industry. It isn't just about cancelling funding for solar and wind projects. Taking other country's oil production off line, like Venezuela's or Iran's, would boost prices and enrich the US oil producers.

Steve

Taking other country's oil production off line, like Venezuela's or Iran's, would boost prices and enrich the US oil producers.

I think we would return the oil to Exxon for Venezuela. Nearly all of the socialist regimes have deteriorated into dictatorships and authoritarianism, Chavez was no different. We made banana republics and interfered at will - we were in Nicaragua for 20+ years - it was during our gunboat diplomacy period with the Monroe Doctrine - cold war. We supported Panama breaking off from Venezuela to get the Panama Canal going.

Chile -

I think we would return the oil to Exxon for Venezuela. Nearly all of the socialist regimes have deteriorated into dictatorships and authoritarianism, Chavez was no different. We made banana republics and interfered at will - we were in Nicaragua for 20+ years - it was during our gunboat diplomacy period with the Monroe Doctrine - cold war. We supported Panama breaking off from Venezuela to get the Panama Canal going.

Chile -
***


At least we weren't so isolationist back then.

Countries want and need the USA guiding them along.

Of course, we're students at it compared to the Europeans.


Here's to future meddling.

Conclusion: Don't be a sucker. Don't enlist. Be ready to dodge drafts too.

I am totally okay with this. We have been in and out of the business of assisting our southern neighbors with drug enforcement for decades now.

I'm not ok with it.

Tom Scocca
‪@tomscocca.bsky.social‬

Don't feel like doing a repost that puts the murder video on the timeline yet again but do feel like repeating the point that the president just straight-up assassinated 11 people for supposedly doing something that wouldn't be a death-penalty crime if they were caught and convicted

Yeah. Why bother stopping drugs coming in? That’s Tom Clancy-wannabe stuff.

Timing. Takes focus off his India blunder. He seems to have convinced MAGA that those economic disruptive forces unleashed will have no effect.. because... Trump. Read up on the balloon effect - I've written about it here but it might be against the MAGA religion presently.

At least we weren't so isolationist back then.

Actually, the US was isolationist. The US had protectionist tariffs before Smoot-Hawley, and a racist immigration policy. The US did not enter WWI until the Zimmerman telegram came to light. Then, after the war, the US acted like a loan-shark, demanding repayment, in full, with interest, from our erstwhile allies, or else they would be excluded from US capital markets.

Hemispheric intervention was a different matter. The "Roosevelt Corollary" was not withdrawn until FDR was in office. FDR withdrew troops from Latin America, and set the Philippines on a path to independence.

Of course, the cold war effectively reenacted the Roosevelt Corollary, on a global basis. The US would happily support any jumped up piece of poo, no matter how brutally repressive, if he paid lip service to being a "good anti-communist".

Steve....history R us.

I'm not ok with it

I'm conflicted. On the one hand, cartel criminality is not debatable.

But...

I worked closely with all the agencies involved with Operation Stonegarden on cases involving boats/drugs/immigrants in S.Calif waters. Some we found, some they found and we were called in to assist in recovering and securing the vessels pending resolution of the investigation.

Here's the thing. Many of the crews were commercial fishermen that El Chapo's guys would recruit from fishing villages with 2 choices; plata or plomo/ silver or lead. Some boats had immigrants, some drugs, some both with immigrants required to carry cargo from landing sites to vehicles.

A lot of people fled these guys and are now being shipped back to god-only-knows what kind of reception.

A friend of mine is now a USCG Commander (hopefully) about to get his own 'boat'. He's done everything including saying hello with the machine gun and 'disabling' gofasts with a 50 caliber rifle from the gun door. When a go-fast is detected and he launches a helo and RIB, the outcome is certain. The target stops and surrenders or lead comes raining down on the stern. The RIB arrests the crew and secures the vessel under air cover.

Summary execution is a new thing. Trump has decided it's okay to be judge, jury, executioner.

We may have just liquified people facing the plata/plomo option.

It's only people, right? No shortage of them on this orb.

I'm not ok with it

I'm conflicted. On the one hand, cartel criminality is not debatable.

The USCG firing at drug boats is totally acceptable. Even if they were just outside of our territorial waters. The cartels are ruthless because that world is ruthless. If it doesn't go through Venezuela, another country will be corrupted, there's too much money in it. We spend a lot of money, time, and police work on drugs and it doesn't seem to make a difference. This gunboat show is just that - a show - and it will make no difference. We need to stop the overdoses.

I sometimes wonder if we could arrive at an understood deal. That if they (cartels, etc.) didn't mix fentanyl in with other drugs, and got the dosages right, that they wouldn't be pursued as hard as those who continued to mix and get dosages wrong, reducing deaths. I have uneasy feelings about that though. We'd be semi cooperating with cartels.

Timing. Takes focus off his India blunder. He seems to have convinced MAGA that those economic disruptive forces unleashed will have no effect.. because... Trump. Read up on the balloon effect - I've written about it here but it might be against the MAGA religion presently.

TDS lunacy prevents one from looking at the world through the lens of reality, where one can walk and chew gum at the same.

But TDS makes you believe that everyone else views the world through the left's kaleidoscope funhouse kind of lens where everything is a political exercise.

It's not your fault. It's how the old Soviet Union worked and trickled down from there to the rest of the modern left.

"We spend a lot of money, time, and police work on drugs and it doesn't seem to make a difference."

We should spend more of that money on drug addiction help. The reason all of the cartels
want to ship their product here is that it's the biggest, most lucrative market. America has the most illegal drug users. Americans are a huge part of the problem. This reminds me of
the illegal immigrant issue. If the heavy hand of the law came down on the American employers hiring the illegals, the flow of illegals would possibly cut back bigly, at a
much, much lower cost of the circus being run by the current regime.

So it kind of feels like the war on drugs, and the war on illegals, are just dog and pony
shows that do not really want to solve the problem they are tasked with. But they sure like talking about it. It sure fires up the voting base.

So it kind of feels like the war on drugs, and the war on illegals, are just dog and pony

But it provides an excuse to ramp up the police state. Just like #43 would deflect criticism of his warrantless surveillance, imprisonment without due process, and torture, by bawling "we were victims on 9/11"

When will Trump escalate from sending the National Guard into cities, to taking a page from Michigan's book, and appoint an "emergency manager" for cities and states, that usurp the authority of elected officials?

Steve

I'm conflicted.

I'm slightly less conflicted. Summary execution for suspected crimes is simply wrong. That's not how the world's leading democracy is supposed to work. Then again, I question whether the US is still the world's leading democracy.

I don't have a problem with use of force to gain compliance, and potentially lethal force in certain circumstances. On land, I'm perfectly fine with PIT maneuvers at any speed when the fleeing suspect is endangering the public by driving at reckless speeds and running through intersections with no care for others around them. On the sea, there is no PIT maneuver. You have to disable the fleeing boat. So I have no problem with 50 cal shots aimed at the engines or other critical parts of the craft in an attempt to disable it. Sometimes, that's going to end with that projectile (or shrapnel) hitting someone, potentially innocents on the boat. But simply blowing up the whole boat is NOT OK.

--Peter

is there any independently vetted evidence of cartel and cargo?

given that ~90% northbound drugs are overland or western waters, the only reliable take here is more taxpayer funded propaganda fitted for MAGA entertainment.

is there any independently vetted evidence of cartel and cargo?

More things to ponder: from the video, didn't appear to be much cargo in that boat. Eleven people seems to be a lot to crew a drug boat. The more people carried, the less load capacity there is for cargo.

Steve

The USCG firing at drug boats is totally acceptable.

I agree. "We" are very good at putting .50cal rounds through an engine hatch. Disablement is assured. Then it's just a matter of handing over the passengers for processing, destroying the drugs and boat (after processing).

There's a difference between shooting a boat to disable it, vs evaporating the boat and all aboard with CIWS.

Blasting everybody onboard is no bueno. We've seen women and kids in the mix of migrants & drugs on commercial fishing boats, sailboats, pleasure motor boats... and pickups ranging from cars to RVs to Hertz trucks.

We've been contacted by cartels to go get their disabled boats that suffered engine failure, run out of fuel, all the problems every vessel eventually encounters.

If we just blast suspected boats, why not suspected vehicles and residences in the US? Where's the line?

If we just blast suspected boats, why not suspected vehicles and residences in the US? Where's the line?

As the regime has repeatedly demonstrated, in the deportations, and suppression of demonstrations against what Israel is doing in Gaza, "legal due process" is no longer a thing.

Steve

More things to ponder: from the video, didn't appear to be much cargo in that boat. Eleven people seems to be a lot to crew a drug boat.

That's normal. Speed is of the essence once a boat gets to a landing spot.
9 sacrificial migrant schmucks crammed onboard pay for the ride and must help offload the cargo to the vehicle really fast.

"legal due process" is no longer a thing.

That then makes Spankee an even bigger, better, and legitimate--target.

Mexico can legitimately label Spankee an international terrorist selling munitions that are used to destabilize Mexico. Thus, it would be *reasonable* for them to put a price on Spankee's head. Historic US precedent, so Spankee has no legitimate counter-argument.

Venezuela can also legitimately do the same thing. Although Maduro need only offer US $25 bounty.

Why? Let the drug producers in Venezuela each "incentivize" their own people--in a "friendly" contest of "Who can do it?".

So it kind of feels like the war on drugs, and the war on illegals, are just dog and pony
shows that do not really want to solve the problem they are tasked with.

Supposedly, the Chinese got rid of their opium problem by executing people found with opium. I've never really researched that one. so it may not be reality. That would be a helluva thing to see. I remember Duterte declared open season on drugs and the deaths per 100k went from 9.5 to 11.5. But I will say that it seemed to work. A lot of unnecessary killings though. And people were killed and drugs blamed that weren't into drugs too.

If we just blast suspected boats, why not suspected vehicles and residences in the US? Where's the line?

Good question. I watched the video once and wanted to know where the drugs were on the boat. If it's coming from Venezuela it should be cocaine, and I couldn't see enough there to be worthwhile. If it's fentanyl, that stuff is so concentrated, maybe it's there. Could they be towing it? Whether we blow it up or interdict it is ineffective. Nothing we do seems to affect the trade.

So if blowing things up has no effect, we should be civilized and interdict.

Could they be towing it?

I just watched the video. The boat is a big panga maybe 36', with 4x200hp outboards and a stand-up center console. No cabin, small foredeck for dry-ish storage. It was planing, so not towing anything or the tow would be planing too.

The video was too blurry to do a headcount, but if they say 11 people, I have no reason to doubt it. 4 engines says transporter, not fishing. People or drugs. If they say it was surveilled loading bales (coke is pressed into kilo bricks, bricks packaged into bales liftable by one guy over the gunwhale), I have no reason to doubt that either.

Range- boats that size that make it to Central California have built in fuel tanks, max 200 gallons, so it's not going much further than the islands near Venezuela.

I don't believe anything the administration says. It's plausible it was a mixed load of migrants and drugs. They could have been any nationality, and now they're dead.

sano: If they say it was surveilled loading bales (coke is pressed into kilo bricks, bricks packaged into bales liftable by one guy over the gunwhale), I have no reason to doubt that either.


NY Times Pitchbot has a theory: No one knows exactly what was on the Venezuelan boat that was struck by the US military, but the fact that the strike was okayed by the president’s son suggests that there was no cocaine aboard.

4 engines says transporter, not fishing.

I agree on that.

Post New

Mechanical Investing FAQ

---

Contact Shrewd'm
Contact the developer of these message boards.